Somewhere In Between
by kimidori94
Summary: Once again, Hitsugaya and Karin meet in the human world. So, what kind of trouble will they attract this time?
1. Introduction

INTRODUCTION

So this is my first fanfic uploaded on this site (I'm a new member). If you like my writing, then that's awesome; if you don't, then it would be greatly appreciated if you did NOT bash me. Rather, constructive criticism given with a mature and positive attitude is encouraged.

A little background info: This takes place partway through the time skip. I'm not entirely sure if all my facts are correct—I did some background research on the Japanese school curriculum but I may still have some continuity errors. If so, please KINDLY inform me of them, but only if you double check the facts yourself as well. I don't have much patience for people who go around blabbing things without doing a background check, and if I were to take the wrong advice and apply it to my work then that would make me triple the idiot (because the person who pointed out my mistake and proceeded to give me more wrong information would be double the idiot).

All Japanese honorifics and titles (ie taicho, -san/kun/chan, etc) and Bleach-specific terminology (ie gigai, reishi, reiatsu, etc) have been transferred to this fanfic but I have refrained from using actual Japanese in the dialogue—I also have little patience for people who write fanfics and milk every single Japanese word they picked up from watching the anime (ahou, baka, urusai, etc). I've seen some people who have even had the nerve to tell people NOT to correct their Japanese, which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard because if you won't accept people's advice then it defeats the purpose of posting fanfiction online. But that rant is for another day. If you're unclear about the terminology, check out Bleach Wiki. It's a wonderful place.

This particular fanfic sort of focuses on Hitsugaya and Karin's relationship as a "looks-like-friendship-but-wait-what's-all-these-little-hints-they're-dropping-how-do-you-explain-that" kind of thing. In other words, I tried to address it as though it were another filler episode in the Bleach series, like the soccer episode and the plus-boy-with-tragic-story-and-wish-for-snowfall episode. I feel uncomfortable doing anything too romantic because I don't want to undermine and distort the original characters too much (although, believe me, I'm a major shipper of HitsuKarin or whatever they're called). I personally believe that anything concretely romantic should be left to people who have a vast and thorough knowledge of the Bleach universe and its characters, so that they can properly create an effective romance between two characters without any fatal changes to their personality—in other words, either die-hard Bleach fans with decent writing skills or Tite Kubo himself. But of course that's just me, many people have no problems with that and I respect their opinion.

NOTE: I do in fact realize that Hitsugaya rarely/never recites the incantation when performing Kidō, but my logic on the matter was that because he was still in his Gigai he needed the extra punch to the spell. Or something.

So there you have it. Thanks for taking the time to read this and also for your consideration should you choose to continue reading and critique my work. Don't take my message the wrong way, I just wanted to make sure I sift out all the idiots before they started looking for the comments box. Any advice you may have me on my work, I will welcome with open arms, so long as they follow the guidelines I listed above. Anyways, hope you guys like it!


	2. Chapter 1

_Here's the first chapter! I already mentioned in the intro doc that I fully realize Hitsugaya never recites the incantation when performing Kido, but for the sake of story-line I rationalized that he decided to say the whole thing cause he was in his human container-thing and needed to pack the extra punch...flimsy excuse I know LOL but it is fan-fiction so bear it just this once? Hope you guys like it!_

_Seven months after Ichigo loses his powers_

"Eh? Check up on Ichigo?" Matsumoto repeated in confusion, frowning as she stood before Hitsugaya's desk. "Why would they ask you to do something like that?"

"Who knows?" he replied calmly, going through his paperwork. "I suspect it's to see whether he's regained any of his powers in the past year."

"But how could they? He's lost Zangetsu completely," Matsumoto continued, insistent on getting answers that made sense.

"He has. But at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow got it back. Stranger things have happened ever since he became a Substitute Shinigami." Hitsugaya finished off the pile of paperwork he was working on and put his pen down before looking up at his lieutenant for the first time. "In any case, I'll need you to take care of all of this while I'm gone. It shouldn't be for very long, if his powers really have disappeared forever."

"Ehhhhh?" Matsumoto whined at once, staring at the rest of the paperwork. "No way…I was going out to have a drink with Ikkaku this afternoon…"

"Just get it done," Hitsugaya replied in a firm tone, as he stood up from his desk. "I'll call if anything out of the ordinary comes up."

"Taicho…" Matsumoto continued to pout, as Hitsugaya made his way towards the door without looking back. "Wait a minute…"

Ignoring her, Hitsugaya moved out into the hallway and turned left, setting out to find his Gikongan and Gigai. Matsumoto sighed, and continued to whine to herself as she made her way around the desk to sit in the chair.

Karin looked up abruptly from her books in alarm, turning to gaze out the window. Something had filled the air just then—something she had felt before, distinctly familiar, so that she had no trouble realizing what it was once her memory caught up to her. _This reiatsu… _she thought, stunned.

The classroom bell rang for the end of the day just then. Yuzu, who was seated a few rows down, stood up from her desk and looked over at Karin, and noticed for the first time that her sister had not moved an inch, and was looking outside as though something was plastered to the window. Picking up her books and schoolbag, she walked over to Karin's desk and studied her with a worried frown. "What's wrong, Karin-chan?" she asked.

Karin was so intently focused on the reiatsu that it took several seconds for her to realize someone had spoken to her. Blinking, she forced her gaze away from the window and looked at Yuzu blankly. "What?"

"Is something wrong?" Yuzu repeated.

"Ah, no," Karin said after a pause, thinking. "No, I don't think so." Then she had a sudden change of heart, and began to shove her books into her bags as fast as she could.

"Yuzu, do you think you can take over my turn on classroom duties today?" she said in a rush, leaping up from her seat so quickly that her chair was nearly knocked backwards.

Yuzu reared back, confused. "What?"

"Thanks! I owe you one!" Karin replied, barrelling past her and sprinting full speed out the door; Yuzu had barely began her "Wait, Karin-chan!" before all that was left of her was a cloud of dust in her wake.

Hitsugaya slowly walked through the streets of Karakura Town, trying to remember where Ichigo's high school was. He checked his cellphone—which was primarily used as a tracking device for Hollows—and frowned when he saw the time. At this rate, he wouldn't get there in time to catch Ichigo as he finished his classes.

"Tōshirō!"

The voice was somewhat familiar, although he couldn't place it until he turned and saw Karin Kurosaki running up the sidewalk, trying to catch up with him, holding her schoolbag in one arm and waving her other arm in the air to get his attention. He blinked, stunned to see her coming.

"Kurosaki?" he said incredulously, as she finally made it and bent over, panting from running all the way over. "What are you doing here?"

"I felt…your reiatsu…so I came looking for you," Karin huffed, standing straight again so she could look at him. She attempted a smile through her weariness. "Long time no see," she added cheerily.

"Y-Yeah," Hitsugaya replied, still surprised to see her. He gave her a once-over. "You look different…"

"Of course! It's been months since I last saw you," Karin replied, looking slightly offended, as if Hitsugaya had not expected her to grow whatsoever. She had changed rather immensely in just over half a year, though: she now wore her hair in a short ponytail at the back of her head, and her figure had curved somewhat now, so that her hips and chest were more defined. She had put on the yellow sweatshirt and skinny jeans Hitsugaya had seen her in last winter, only now, due to her not-so-flat shape, it took on a completely different feel than it had previously. It was hard to imagine that the same flat-chested tomboy kid who had chased him around and nagged him to play a soccer game was now standing before him.

"Besides, you've changed too," Karin said, throwing her schoolbag over one shoulder and resting her hand on her hip. "You got a haircut. It's less spiky."

Hitsugaya blinked, surprised she noticed. "Yeah."

"I like it," she said, studying it. "The way it's all soft around the edges and hangs down in your face now—" she reached out and ruffled his hair, exactly like she'd done when she'd first seen him in his Shinigami form. "You look even younger now!" she concluded with a wide grin.

Hitsugaya's eye twitched, and he gave her a death glare as he slapped her hand away, snapping, "What d'you say to me?"

Karin snickered. "So what's going on?" she asked, dropping her arm. "Is it trouble again, or did you come to visit Haru Ba-chan?" Haru Ba-chan—or Grandma Haru—was an elderly lady with spiritual awareness like Karin, and enjoyed conversing with the spirits who kept her company. She had befriended Hitsugaya when he had been stationed in the world of the living before his captain years.

"Actually," Hitsugaya began, suddenly remembering something earlier in their conversation, "I came looking for your brother. But I want to ask you how you knew I was here."

Karin blinked, surprised. "Your reiatsu…"

"You sensed it? How close by were you?" he asked, his eyebrows narrowing over his widened eyes in confusion.

Karin looked like she was going to frown, but gave him a smile like she wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous. "What are you talking about? With a reiatsu like yours, anyone with the tiniest bit of spiritual pressure could sense you across town."

Hitsugaya stared at her, stunned with her words. Karin noticed this, too, because her smile faltered, seeing the way he looked at her like she had some infectious disease. "What is it?" she asked.

"Kurosaki, not just anyone can sense my presence the way you say you can," he explained seriously. "In fact, right now I'm suppressing my reiatsu. Otherwise everything around me would be covered in ice right now."

Karin's face fell, and she stared almost blankly ahead of her, except for the hint of fear in her eyes. "Oh," she said, dazed. "I see…"

"Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said, speaking slowly, "what's going on with you?"

Karin gripped the handle of her schoolbag with both hands tightly, grimacing slightly towards the ground. "It's nothing," she lied stubbornly. "It's nothing I can't handle—"

Suddenly her head shot up, a newfound sense of alarm filling her face expression. She turned to look behind her, staring hard into the distance.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hitsugaya asked, eyes narrowing.

"Can't you feel it?"

"Feel it?"

"It's a Hollow!"

Hitsugaya drew in a small intake of breath sharply.

_If left alone…I don't really understand this…but don't they turn into like, monsters?_

…_Yeah, you're right. If he stays here, Yosuke will probably turn into a Hollow. _

_A Hollow?_

_What you call a "monster."_

It was a flashback of a conversation they had a year ago, when they'd been speaking of Haru Ba-chan's favourite spirit, Yosuke, whom had been a Plus at the time. Just as Hitsugaya was remembering this, his cellphone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open, and was alarmed to see a bleeping red dot on the map.

_She sensed the Hollow before it had even shown up on the map?_ Hitsugaya looked up at Karin, deeply disturbed. He couldn't sense the Hollow even now, as the red dot continued to beep.

"Kurosaki," he called in a dark tone, so that Karin turned her back on the Hollow. "Why can you sense it?"

"Why?" Karin repeated, confused. "I don't know. You've already seen me do this, remember? That time I caught up with you at that hill during the sunset."

"That's true, but you've never done it before it's shown up on the tracking system," Hitsugaya said, holding up his cellphone for her to see. "When did this start happening?"

Karin's face twisted uneasily, as if she didn't want to go into details about it, but just then the cellphone beeped again, reminding them both of the Hollow.

"We don't have time for that now!" Karin said, finding an excuse to avoid the subject and turning away, sprinting in the direction of the Hollow. "We have to go defeat that thing!"

"Hey, wait!" Hitsugaya snapped, running after her.

When they finally reached the Hollow, rampaging after a Plus in the same park where they'd been playing soccer up until now, Hitsugaya was even more suspicious of Karin than he was before. The entire way there, Karin had led the way without making a single wrong turn once; whenever he checked his cellphone to see where they were going, she had always beat him to it.

"There it is!" Karin said, pausing only for a second for Hitsugaya to catch up before trampling down the hill at top speed towards the Hollow.

"Wait a minute!" Hitsugaya snapped again, but she paid him no mind. Instead, on her way over, she spotted an abandoned soccer ball and grinned.

_Perfect_, she thought, and began to dribble the ball over towards the Hollow, which was now cornering the Plus—a young boy—as it trembled on the ground, having tripped and fell trying to run away from the monster.

With an intense battle yell, she kicked the soccer ball as hard as she could. Without realizing it, she had channelled some of her reiatsu into the ball as she kicked it, which had previously proved successful at injuring the weaker Hollows during her days as Karakura Red of Don Kanonji's team, the Karakura Superheroes. Today, however, the smash of the ball into the Hollow's face didn't seem as effective, reminding her instead of when she had encountered a Menos during Hitsugaya's first stay in town.

To her dismay, the Hollow began to struggle back up, and she focused on running towards the Plus before it got on its feet again.

"Get up, kid! Run!" she yelled, but the boy was frozen in fear, completely paralyzed. She moved forward and stood in front of it to get its attention, since she couldn't shove the kid aside.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and run away!" she yelled at him, but even as the kid snapped out of it he eyed her in terrified confusion, unable to comprehend what she was saying.

Behind her, the Hollow got up and loomed over the two of them; Karin turned around when she heard Hitsugaya's voice, low, steady and calm.

"Ye Lord, mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man. Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

The Hollow clenched its two fists together and raised it high over his head.

"Hadō Number 31! Shakkahō!" Hitsugaya yelled, a ball of red energy forming at the end of his extended index and middle finger, and he whipped his arm across his body, firing the energy at the Hollow. It blasted it squarely in the face, causing it to howl and collapse once more.

"Why isn't it dead?" Karin yelled, when she saw that it wasn't disintegrating into black ashes or shattering into a thousand pieces of ice, like she had previously seen them do.

"It's another Menos! It won't be taken down so easily by a Kidō casted in my human form!" Hitsugaya yelled back, using what little time he had to fumble in his pockets for his Gikongan.

Karin glanced behind her shoulder, and saw that the kid wasn't going to move anytime soon. Gritting her teeth, she looked back at the Hollow, trying to think of something to do, when she realized that this time the Hollow had not taken his time getting back up. He brushed her aside roughly, causing her to fly a few feet before rolling some distance away.

"Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya called, just as the Hollow's roar filled the air, cutting him off. It turned away from the boy and took a step towards Karin.

A sense of fear gripped Karin, and she rolled over and did the only thing she could think of: she raised her hand up in desperation and pointed her fingers like a gun, and yelled, "Hadō Number 31! _Shakkahō!_"

To the immense surprise of both Karin and Hitsugaya, a red ball of energy formed at the end of her fingertips. Instinctively she flicked her hand slightly, mimicking the recoil of firing a real gun, and the Kidō shot away from her and grazed the Hollow's leg. Distracted, it stopped and fell on one knee, howling, clutching its injured leg.

At this point Hitsugaya had finally retrieved the Gikongan and threw it into his mouth, swallowing it hastily; his spirit form was immediately pushed out of the container, and he drew his sword at once.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens! Hyōrinmaru!" he called in a deadly tone, and soon storm clouds appeared out of nowhere and filled the skies, blocking out the sunlight and giving everything a dark grey tone to it. Within seconds it began pouring rain by the buckets.

Hitsugaya sprinted forward, and leaped into the air. The water pouring down began to swirl around his sword and turn into ice, and with that he yelled, "Guncho Tsurara!" and swung his sword, spraying an array of ice daggers down at the Hollow. Not one of them missed its mark; it pierced the creature all over its body, and with one final howl the Hollow coated over with ice before breaking apart and crumbling to pieces, falling to the ground.

As the clouds began to disappear, Karin rolled onto her back in relief and sighed, worn out and somewhat annoyed. "Honestly, this is becoming such a huge pain in the ass…" she muttered, before sitting up and looking over at the kid. By then Hitsugaya had approached the boy, and knelt down on one knee in front of him.

"You okay?" he asked him.

The kid nodded, teary-eyed.

"Don't worry. Just sit still for a minute." Hitsugaya pointed the hilt of his blade towards the boy and lightly tapped his forehead with it, imprinting it with the light-blue mark of the Konsō. The boy's face relaxed, and he slowly began to disappear, fading into the ground until he had passed over to the spirit world.

"Looks like you saved my butt again, Tōshirō," Karin said, as she walked over to him, but stopped short in her tracks when Hitsugaya suddenly stood up and gave her a hard look.

"W-What's wrong?" she asked, thinking he was angry at her.

"Where did you learn to use Kidō?" Hitsugaya demanded.

"Huh? You mean that weird spell thing?" Karin frowned. "I've never seen that before. I just copied what you did, but I couldn't remember the incantation." She looked down at her right hand and cradled it with her left, rubbing her wrist. "It kinda hurt. Was it supposed to?"

Hitsugaya stared at her, completely bewildered by everything that this girl had said or done so far today, and he'd barely seen her for twenty minutes.

"Come with me," he ordered.


	3. Chapter 2

_So this is part two! The storyline's a bit of a stretch and I'm pretty sure the anime will eventually focus on Karin and show what actually happens with her, but for anyone who reads this when that happens, please keep in mind that I wrote this before they did so LOL. (I also have no idea how much two ice cream cones cost in Japan so i made a guesstimate.) Anyways thanks for sticking with me, hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

_One hour later _

"EHHHHH?" Matsumoto yelped loudly into the phone, so that Hitsugaya winced and held the phone away from his ear. "Really? Ichigo's sister has been showing increased spiritual powers?"

"Yeah," he replied, trying to keep the annoyed twinge out of his voice. He was standing outside of the Kurosaki clinic, and glanced briefly in the direction of the house. "For now, though, she's refusing to talk about it."

"How bad is it?"

"Bad? Not even close," Hitsugaya replied darkly. "She performed a complete Kidō spell on her first try without the incantation."

"Ehhhhh? Are you serious? She must be a Kidō prodigy! Have you tried teaching her?"

"This is hardly the time for that. She isn't even a Shinigami yet and her powers as a human can be considered those of one."

"What about Ichigo?"

"Nothing to report from him. He still hasn't gotten his powers back. According to the girl, anyway."

"No way! Do you think the sister's sucking up all of his powers?"

"Who knows?" he sighed. "In any case I'm going to hang around for a few more days and see what information I can get out of the girl."

"Awwww, that's so much work I'll have to do!" Matsumoto whined.

"Just do it all for now. And be sure to include a report on my extended stay in the world of living."

"But, Taicho—!"

Hitsugaya quickly hung up on her, flipping his phone shut, and sighed. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked towards the front door and let himself in.

At the sound of the door opening, Yuzu, whom had been in the middle of pouting at Karin for dumping her with the classroom duties, stopped and poked her head into the hallway with curiosity. Hitsugaya noticed then that Yuzu looked a little different as well: her hair had grown out a little, like Karin's, only she wore them in twin pigtails near the nape of her neck.

At the sight of Hitsugaya, she squealed with joy. "Karin-chan! Your boyfriend's here!"

"I'm not her boyfriend!" Hitsugaya snapped, at the same time that Karin yelled from upstairs, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"She's just preparing a room for you," Yuzu continued, as though she had not heard either of them, and winked, causing Hitsugaya's eye to twitch in return. Ignoring this, too, she sighed dreamily and held both hands to her face.

"It must be nice to date someone," she cooed, skipping away into the kitchen. "And Otō-san isn't home again to see this either! Why is he always away when you come? It's important that the father gives permission for the relationship to go through—"

"I'm not asking his permission for anything!" Hitsugaya insisted with increasing irritance, but that only caused Yuzu to squeal even louder and clap her hands together.

"Fighting for the one you care for! The power of true love is so beautiful!" she screamed, practically on the verge of tears from being so touched.

Hitsugaya repressed the urge to shake her, clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth, when Karin began clambering down the stairs.

"Go watch Don Kanonji or something!" she ordered Yuzu, whom sulked momentarily, but upon seeing that Karin had thrown her hooded vest on, her expression lit up.

"Going on a daaaaate?" she sang.

"_We're not dating!_" Karin and Hitsugaya yelled in unison.

"You're so lucky, Tōshirō-kun!" Yuzu continued, pointing at Karin. "Karin-chan's turned into a real woman now!"

"Will you get lost?" Karin shoved Yuzu back into the living room. "Dinner's going to burn at that rate! Besides, he's looking for Ichi-nii!"

"Onī-chan?" Yuzu blinked. "Isn't he at Orihime-chan's today with the rest of his friends?"

"Ah! You're right!" Karin said, eyes widening in remembrance. "Today's Friday, isn't it?" She turned guiltily towards Hitsugaya, smiling sheepishly. "Sometimes Orihime invites them over for dinner on Fridays," she said apologetically. "Is it important? Do you want me to call him up for you?"

Hitsugaya scrunched his face up in displeasure, debating between intruding on the girl's home and staying here to sit through more of Yuzu's torturous accusations.

"I'll think about it," he said finally, and then added pointedly, "Can I go to my room?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll show you which one it is," Karin said, and made her way back up the stairs again, with Hitsugaya trailing after her, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Upon reaching the room, Hitsugaya brushed past Karin and walked towards the bed. "Come in and close the door behind you," he ordered in a serious tone, so that Karin obeyed at first without asking questions.

"What's wrong?" Karin asked finally, leaning up against the wall facing the bed with her arms folded.

"You said your brother hasn't regained any of his Shinigami powers, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. I haven't felt any reiatsu from him at all."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. "What about you? How is it that your spiritual awareness has increased so much?"

Karin's expression grew serious, and her gaze shifted to the floor.

"Not only that," Hitsugaya continued, "but your reiatsu has grown incredibly high too. You were able to complete a Kidō spell just by watching only once."

Karin remained silent.

"Has Urahara Kisuke been training you?"

Surprised by the accusation, Karin looked up in alarm.

"You stink of his spirit-repelling spray. Has he been training you in Kurosaki Ichigo's place?"

"No," Karin said firmly. "I've just been using his products lately. These powers have done nothing for me except bring me extra trouble. It's like they're all attracted to it."

"You mean the Hollows?"

"Yeah. I can't afford to have them attacking Yuzu or Ichi-nii when we're sleeping. Ichi-nii lost his powers, and Yuzu can barely see spirits." She crossed her arms more tightly across her chest. "These powers are nothing but a danger to my family."

Hitsugaya took this into consideration. "Power is only dangerous if the wielder is unworthy of it," he said finally. "If you want to suppress your reiatsu then I can teach you how."

Karin looked at him, stunned. "Really? You can do that?" she said excitedly.

"Yeah. If you're as good as you've been so far, then by the time I'm gone you'll have gotten the basics down. After that it will just be a matter of practice."

Karin brightened up, filled with a newfound fire of eager determination. "Thanks, Tōshirō," she said. "I won't forget this."

Hitsugaya didn't reply. After a moment he sprawled out on the bed and turned over so that his back was to her, saying, "You don't have to bother your brother about this anymore, Kurosaki."

"Call me Karin," she replied instantly. "You're in the Kurosaki house right now. It's gonna be hard calling us separately if you use our last name."

"Whatever. I'm going to rest now."

"Alright, alright," she said, kicking off from the wall and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Hitsugaya flopped onto his back again and stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, Karin aced at hiding her reiatsu. Part of it was due to her extreme determination, but she was still picking it up at an alarmingly fast pace, something that worried Tōshirō. She had proved to have high spiritual pressure before, but it was now excelling past what was usually exhibited from humans with basic spiritual awareness.

Ichigo, just as Karin had said, carried no trace of reiatsu whatsoever, and Karin used this to her advantage, asking Tōshirō to not confide in him her recent surge in power or that fact that he was instructing her on how to control them. She had not told her brother of her frequent trips to the Urahara shop either, considering its main appeal was directed to Shinigami as a target audience, and under normal circumstances she would've had nothing to do with the place. So instead, Karin told Ichigo that Hitsugaya was working a shift as the Shinigami watching over the town.

In return for the lessons in controlling her reiatsu, Karin would insist on showing Hitsugaya around town and teach him about the world of the living. She preferred receiving her lessons outside of the home, so as to not tip off the rest of the family on what they were doing, so they would go through with the lessons in abandoned warehouses or parks where the trees grew more thickly and closely together. Whenever they took breaks or called it a day, Karin would show him around Karakura Town and teach him about human customs. The one subject that they touched on a lot was often food—Soul Society was a very traditional and simplistic place, so there was a wide spread of food and drink that Hitsugaya had never even heard of before.

"Are you serious?" Karin exclaimed incredulously, as they were passing by an ice cream cart the following Monday afternoon. "How can the spirit world not have ice cream?"

"We don't have the means to make it," Hitsugaya replied simply, hands shoved in his pockets, continuing to walk past it even as Karin had stopped. "We only have shaved ice. Ice cream's only been heard of in Soul Society."

"Well, hang on a minute!" Karin called, so that Hitsugaya paused and looked back as she approached the man behind the cart.

"What can I do for you, young lady?" the man asked kindly.

Karin held two fingers up. "Two single-scoop cones of the red bean ice cream," she said.

"Sure thing."

"What are you doing?" Hitsugaya asked, narrowing his eyes over at her as the man started making the cones.

Karin motioned for him to approach with her hand. "It's a little cold for ice cream, but I'm sure that's not much of a problem for you, since your thing is ice and stuff, right?"

Hitsugaya sighed and walked over, just as the old man handed Karin the first cone. Upon approaching her Karin thrusted it at him. "Here," she said.

Hitsugaya blinked, then took it, studying it to himself.

"Here you go," the old man said, handing the second one to Karin. "That'll be three thousand yen."

"Thanks," Karin said, handing over the bills.

"Hey, hey, what is this?" the man said, as he took the money.

Hitsugaya and Karin looked over, confused.

"Young man, aren't you the one who's supposed to be paying for the young lady here? It's proper etiquette," he said good-naturedly.

Hitsugaya thought over this. "Is that so?"

"Uh, it doesn't mean anything," Karin said quickly, ushering him away, since she knew what the man was really thinking. She grinned sheepishly at him over her shoulder. "Thanks again," she called, and the old man waved back.

"Hey, it's dripping," Hitsugaya said, looking down at his cone.

"Then hurry up and lick it!" Karin said, starting in on her own cone. Hitsugaya watched her curiously, and followed suit, licking the ice cream where it was beginning to ooze down onto the cone. After tasting it, he perked up a little bit.

Karin noticed this, and grinned over at him. "It's good, right? Tastes like those candied beans you like so much, huh?"

"Yeah."

Karin smirked, then focused on her cone again. "So how much longer will you be staying for?"

"That depends on how much extra time Matsumoto put in for my stay here."

"Matsumoto? That's your lieutenant, right?"

"Yeah."

"I keep forgetting you're a captain sometimes," Karin said, swinging the arm that was holding her schoolbag back and forth. "You've sure accomplished a lot for a middle school kid."

"What? How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a middle school kid!" Hitsugaya snapped at her, momentarily distracted from his ice cream to scowl at her.

"Then, how old are you?"

"That's none of your business."

Karin frowned. "If you keep saying that, then I'm going to just keep calling you a middle school kid."

Hitsugaya was silent for a minute. "I don't know."

Karin looked over at him, and her walking slowed a little. "Huh?"

"In human years, I don't know how old I am," he said, continuing to move forward. "Shinigami age much more slowly than normal humans."

Karin took this in for a moment. "I see," she said, looking up at the sky, and she began walking again, only now she was trailing behind him. "Then, how many human years are worth one Shinigami year?"

For a long time Hitsugaya remained silent, so that at first Karin thought he was just calculating it in his head, but when he continued to remain silent she said, "Tōshirō?"

"How old do I look?" he said finally.

"Huh? Err, I dunno…" Karin scrunched her face up thoughtfully. It was hard to determine that; at first glance anyone would've said "an elementary student," but when you studied his facial expression and got to know his personality, it makes you think twice about it. He gave off the impression of someone whom had seen too much in his lifetime, a lot of which he wished he had never experienced. Yes, someone who had lived a long life full of hardships—that sounded a lot like him.

Putting all of this together, she finally said, "Well…thirteen or fourteen, I guess. I don't really know."

"Tch," Hitsugaya spat, initially dissatisfied that she hadn't guessed a higher age, but after a moment he said simply, "Then I'll just say thirteen. If that's what I look like to you."

Since he wasn't nearly as angry as Karin would've expected about her guess, or yelled at her about calling him a kid again, she assumed she was somewhere around the right mark.

"Oh, yeah," Hitsugaya said then, looking over his shoulder at her and holding the cone up. "What do I do with this?"

Karin looked surprised for a moment, and then she laughed. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at her.

"You eat it," she told him. "It's edible. Why? You were wondering how you were going to get to the ice cream inside, right?"

"Shut up," he said bluntly, facing forward again, and Karin could hear the tentative crunch as he bit into the cone suspiciously. After a moment he said, "As far as me going back to Soul Society goes, that will probably depend on how well you develop your ability to supress your reiatsu."

Karin raised her eyebrows. _We're going all the way back to that?_ she thought, surprised.

"Starting tomorrow, you're going to go through the whole day while supressing your reiatsu."

"The whole day?" Karin exclaimed.

"That's right. Without using your Hollow repellent, either."

Karin's eyes widened, worried.

"If you can do it, then I'll start instructing you on how to supress it while you're sleeping," Hitsugaya continued. "Once you're able to do that, then you won't have to consciously think about supressing it all the time—you'll be able to do it unconsciously."

Karin stared at him, stunned, but her expression turned to one of determination, and she nodded firmly. "Okay," she replied.


	4. Chapter 3

_Here's part 3 everyone! Just as a routine and friendly reminder (for future references), this was written before the anime revealed how Karin deals with her growing powers. It's a bit flimsy but thanks for reading anyway! Hope you guys like it!_

* * *

_The next day_

"Hey, Kurosaki!"

Karin looked over her shoulder. It was the four kids she usually played soccer with, and sure enough one of them was holding a ball. "You up for a game?" they called.

"Sorry, I've got something else to do," she called back, waving her hand apologetically as she continued down the hallway. "Maybe next time!"

Lunch in hand, neatly wrapped in a pink cloth—Yuzu's handiwork—she made her way up the staircase until she reached the top floor, and pushed through the heavy doors into the hall. From there she walked down the hallway, which had light sand-coloured floors and white walls that reflected the sunlight coming in through the windows brightly. Eventually she came to a door that said "Roof Access" on it, and she pushed through that, moving into a darker and rustier staircase than the one she had previously been in. She paused for a moment, looking up curiously at the exit at the top of the stairs, which was streaming bright white sunlight into the dark room, and then made her way up to the top and stepped outside.

The school roof overlooked the track field on the north end of the school, and at the south end one could look out and see where the train tracks intersected with the river some distance away. In all directions, though, one could see endless numbers of houses within the surrounding neighbourhoods, jam-packed and fit tightly together.

Besides Karin, there were a few other groups of people—mostly eighth graders—whom were sitting on the roof in a circle or with their backs up against various other rooftop accesses. She scanned the roof for a moment, then picked up her pace and jogged towards the access directly opposite the one she'd just stepped out of.

She stopped in front of it, staring down into the shade the access casted. "Tōshirō," she said, surprised. "What are you doing here? Have you been sitting here for very long?"

Hitsugaya sat against the wall, one knee up so that he could rest his arm on it, the other spread out in front of him. "Who knows?" he replied vaguely.

"'Who knows'? What's that supposed to mean?"

Hitsugaya ignored this. "So, have you slipped up yet?"

"Not yet," Karin replied, sitting down next to him. "So far I've been okay—wait, are you expecting me to mess up or something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Maybe."

Karin sighed and began to unwrap her lunch. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Think about what?"

"Did I mess up yet?"

"Not really."

Karin frowned at him. "What kind of answer is that?" she said. "Either I slipped up or I didn't."

Hitsugaya remained silent, so Karin just sighed again. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?" she asked him.

"Not really."

"Will you stop saying that?" Karin presented him with a juice box. "Here."

Hitsugaya stared at it, then took it, reading the label. "Thanks," he said, then frowned and began turning it over in his hands. "How do you drink this?"

Seeing him do this, Karin reached over for it. "You're supposed to poke the straw in it and drink it," she said, taking the straw out of its wrapping and poking it in the hole for him, just as Ichigo had done for Rukia two years ago. She handed the box back to him. "Here."

"Thanks," Hitsugaya said again, and began drinking from the straw.

Suddenly Karin flinched, and her body tensed up. Putting her lunch down, she stood up and looked out towards the river.

Hitsugaya looked over sharply. "What is it?"

"Another Hollow," Karin said, her eyes never moving from the direction of the beast.

Narrowing his eyes, Hitsugaya stood up as well and looked out in the direction she was staring in, waiting to pick up on it as well, counting the second difference in his head.

Four seconds later the air suddenly became dense and heavy; Hitsugaya's eyes widened, stunned, and not long after that his cellphone began beeping in his pocket.

"Tōshirō!" Karin exclaimed.

Hitsugaya handed her his juice box. "Wait here until I come back," he instructed.

"Wait!" Karin said quickly, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Can't I come with you?"

"No, it's too dangerous for you. You'll just get in my way—" Hitsugaya stopped short, a sudden realization hitting him full force.

Thinking it was danger, Karin grew more visibly frightened and gripped his arm harder. "What is it?"

"I'll explain later," he said, shaking her off. "For now just wait here." He ran to the edge of the roof and jumped clear over the railing.

Stunned, Karin ran over, thinking he had injured himself, only to see him running off down the street completely unharmed. She continued to stand there and stare, long after he had disappeared.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Hitsugaya suddenly appeared on the rooftop again, startling Karin, as she sat waiting anxiously. Upon seeing him she scrambled up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Hitsugaya replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring sharply at her. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you something."

Karin put on a worried face. "What is it?"

"Were you suppressing your reiatsu this whole time?"

"Yeah, I was," she replied, confused. "I don't think I messed up or anything. Why?"

Hitsugaya leaned on the railing and looked out over the neighbourhood. "Just now, I was able to feel the Hollow coming," he said, "but I couldn't feel anything the first time we came across one. I know why that is now."

Karin blinked, waiting.

Hitsugaya turned to look at her. "Your reiatsu created such an impression over the town that it threw off my senses. That's why only you were able to feel its presence before."

Karin flinched, stunned. Then she lunged forward and grabbed his shoulders. "Hold on a minute! You're telling me that my spiritual pressure was strong enough to throw off yours?"

Hitsugaya stared back coldly. "That's right."

Unable to comprehend this, Karin let go of his shoulders and took a step away from him, staring at the ground in shock.

Suddenly, Hitsugaya's phone began ringing. He retrieved it from his pocket and flipped it open before holding it to his ear. "Yeah," he said into the phone.

"Taicho?" a female voice called.

"Matsumoto?"

"I've sent in a report requesting five more days in the human world in order to investigate the spiritual powers of Kurosaki Karin. Will this be enough?"

"Five days?" Hitsugaya repeated incredulously. "That's far too much time!"

Karin snapped out of her daze then, and looked curiously out over the neighbourhood. "This reiatsu?" she murmured to herself.

Hitsugaya turned towards her, but Matsumoto spoke just then. "I thought you said she was showing similar characteristics to her brother before he became a Shinigami," she said. "That's why I gave you five days."

"Still, I'm surprised you gave me so much time. Usually you're one to have me return to Soul Society as fast as possible, considering your laziness when it comes to paperwork."

"Actually, speaking of which, I have a surprise for you!"

Hitsugaya blinked, confused, until suddenly a voice filled the air.

"TAICHOOOOOOO!"

"Eh? So she really is here?" Karin said, looking over the railing as Hitsugaya froze up in disbelief. Slowly he turned, and there on the ground below, Matsumoto was waving up at them, presently in her Gigai.

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. "That damn Matsumoto…"

"Just wait there! I'll be right up! I need to use the restroom!" she called up at them cheerily, before making her way towards the front door.

Clenching one fist, Hitsugaya slumped over while gripping the railing with his other hand. "Honestly, why does she always have to follow me around?"

"Isn't that her job?" Karin said curiously, and Hitsugaya realized then that Karin had, once again, picked up on a reiatsu of a Shinigami who had been intentionally hiding it.

Karin shrunk a bit under his serious gaze. "What did I do now?" she said defensively.

Hitsugaya remained silent for a moment, then looked away and said, "Nothing, never mind."

Karin stared at him for a minute, then put on a serious expression. "You'll be in town for five days?"

"Yeah. It seems I'll be staying in the world of the living a little longer than expected—"

"Teach me how to perform that spell from yesterday."

Hitsugaya looked up at her, stunned at her request. "What?"

"That spell. I want to learn how to use it properly," Karin said firmly.

Hitsugaya looked back out over the neighbourhood. "I'm not obligated to do that."

"Since when? There's a rule saying you can't teach humans to cast spells?"

"I don't know what will happen to you if I do," Hitsugaya said seriously. "To train your spiritual powers so much in your state could mean potential harm. It's possible that your strength will be too much for your body to contain. Your welfare is my responsibility to watch over, and in order to fulfill those responsibilities I can't take you up on your request."

"But you told me yourself that I can control them more quickly than you thought!" Karin insisted, taking a step closer. "Please, Tōshirō!"

Hitsugaya glanced over at her. "It's a fifty-fifty chance. That's the best I can offer you."

"It's enough."

"You're absolutely certain?"

There was a long silence that followed, as Karin stared into space, thinking. Finally she looked at him with hard eyes. "Yes."

"Fine." Hitsugaya sighed. "Honestly. You get me caught up in the strangest kinds of trouble."

"Maybe you teach me one for the defensive," Karin suggested. "But lately I've been teaching myself how to focus my reiatsu in my legs for kicking and stuff."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. Sounded more like Urahara Kisuke's area of expertise—he was fairly adept at Hakuda, a form of close-range battle where one uses their body to fight instead. It required some combination of martial arts, though…

"Is that possible, though?"

Hitsugaya snapped out of it. "What do you mean?"

"A demon spell that creates a barrier or something. If I wanted to protect someone," Karin said sheepishly, but all the same she looked determined. "If there's one like that, I need to know how to do it."

Just then, Matsumoto burst through the roof access. "Taicho!" she called, jogging over. "I'm here, ready for duty!"

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at her. "Why did you neglect your work and come to the world of the living?" he snapped.

"I was bored," Matsumoto pouted. "You left me with all that paperwork and you've been having fun here with Ichigo's sister!"

"This is hardly time for play!" Hitsugaya said, raising his voice slightly, but Karin stepped forward then to get Matsumoto's attention.

"It's my fault," Karin said quickly. "I asked him to help me control my reiatsu."

"Eh? Really?" Matsumoto looked down at her in surprise. "Say, you look different!" she beamed. "You've grown so much!"

"Uh, thanks," Karin said, chuckling in embarrassment and rubbing her head.

Hitsugaya refocused his attention towards Karin. "Kidō barriers are too advanced, even at your pace," he told her. "But there's a simple binding spell that you might be able to use."

"You're teaching her Kidō?" Matsumoto exclaimed in surprise.

Karin blinked. "A binding spell?"

"Yeah. It prevents your enemies from moving."

Karin thought this over, then nodded.

Hitsugaya looked over at Matsumoto. "Then, you can teach her Rikujōkōrō," he said to her.

"Eh? Are you serious? Hey, wait! Taicho!" Matsumoto called, as Hitsugaya turned around and began walking away.

Karin gave a single nervous chuckle, smiling apologetically at Matsumoto. "Sorry he stuck you with babysitting me," she said.

"Hm? Oh, no, don't worry about that! When I'm through with you, you'll have that Bakudō down, no problem!" Matsumoto said, brightening up as she winked down at Karin. "He's just grumpy 'cause I like to tease him about you."

"Me?" Karin said, surprised.

"That's right! I snuck up on him once when he was stalking you—"

"What d'you say?" Hitsugaya yelled, throwing a death glare over his shoulder at Matsumoto. "I told you that you have it wrong!"

"Yes, yes," Matsumoto said, waving him away, but she winked down at Karin again, whom could only grin back with uncertainty.

* * *

"Are you sure Matsumoto-san doesn't need a place to stay?" Karin asked, as she followed him up the stairs of her house.

"No, she's already made arrangements with Inoue Orihime. Besides, I don't think I could handle living under the same roof as her."

"She's not that bad," Karin said, defending Matsumoto on her behalf as they stepped into the spare room.

Hitsugaya just scoffed.

"Wait," Karin said, pausing inside the room. "Where will you sleep if I'm taking up the bed?"

"I'll sleep on the roof."

Karin made a face. "You can do that?"

"I've done it plenty of times before," Hitsugaya replied simply. "Now hurry up and lie down so I can instruct you properly."

"What if I won't be able to sleep?"

"Then you fail."

"That's not very encouraging…"

"Just do it."

* * *

The next morning, Karin woke up to the rays of sunlight streaming in through the window in front of her bed. She blinked and winced, throwing one arm over her eyes, until she suddenly remembered her task from the previous night.

"Tōshirō!" she said suddenly, shooting upright in the bed. Upon doing so, she noticed for the first time that Hitsugaya had not moved up to the roof, like he said he would've once she had fallen asleep, but had instead fallen asleep sitting on top of the desk, his back against the wall, his arms and legs crossed.

Karin raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he forgot?" she wondered aloud, kicking the covers off and swinging her legs off the bed. She got up and walked over to where he was sitting, and tried to gently reach over and shake his shoulder to wake him up.

For a split second, Karin thought she saw his blue eyes shoot open, but before she could comprehend it she was sailing through the air after getting kicked in the face—a nasty effect of Hitsugaya's inbred keen and swift defense mechanisms—and she landed hard on the ground just as he hollered, "WHO'S THERE?"

Taking in his surroundings, Hitsugaya remembered where he was, and saw Karin twitching on the floor. "Kurosaki?" he said in surprise, then got annoyed, snapping, "What were you doing?"

Shooting up from the ground, Karin ran over, slammed her hands on the desk and hollered back, "I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME THING! Why the hell did you kick me?"

"You snuck up on me while I was asleep!"

"I was trying to wake you up! Do you kick everyone who comes within three feet of you?"

Suddenly the door burst open. "What the hell's going on?" Ichigo yelled, barging in, but stopped and blinked when she saw the two of them growling at each other. "You two?"

Yuzu poked her head in as well, and let out an ear-piercing screech, only this time it was in shock. "KARIN-CHAN! HOW COULD YOU SLEEP IN THE SAME BED AS HIM ALREADY! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG!"

"I TOLD YOU IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"


	5. Chapter 4

_So this is part 4 everyone! As a routine and friendly reminder (for future references), this was written before the anime revealed how Karin actually deals with her growing powers, and all events in this fanfic are purely hypothetical. It's a little bit iffy but I hope you guys like it! Thanks for reading!_

* * *

_The next day_

"Should I really be skipping school for this?" Karin asked with a frown, as she and Matsumoto stood facing each other a few yards apart in one of the more secluded forest areas of the park.

"Come now, it's the beginning of May! I heard from Kuchiki-dono that human schools get summer vacation in June!" Matsumoto called back.

"That's a whole two months…" Karin sighed.

"Why? Is there a reason you should be in school today?"

Karin paused, then said, "Well, I guess not, if this is really important…"

"That's the spirit!" Matsumoto beamed.

"Spir…it?" Karin echoed in disbelief.

"Alright, so! How good are your memorization skills?"

Karin thought this over. "If it's something important, then I'll remember it."

"Then listen carefully. I'm going to say it once, and then when you're ready I'm going to start attacking you while you try to stop me. If I stop you from completing the incantation then I win. If you can pin me down then you win."

"Only once?" Karin exclaimed.

"Are you ready? I'm going to demonstrate now!"

"Wait—!"

Matsumoto turned sharply and pointed at a tree nearby. "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!"

Matsumoto's index finger began to emit a bright yellow glow.

"Bakudō Number 61! Rikujōkōrō!" she yelled, and the light at the tip of her finger shone blindingly for a moment; then, out of nowhere, six thin, wide beams made of the same light were narrowing in on the tree from all angles, pinning the tree in its centre.

Matsumoto turned back towards Karin, whom was gawking at the tree. "Here I come!" she called excitedly.

* * *

From the rooftop of an old church, Hitsugaya sat perched, watching down some distance away as Matsumoto continuously bore down on Karin, who in turn attempted to complete the incantation while simultaneously dodging her attacks. The astonished and uncertain look had disappeared from her face now, and she began moving around more seriously, her teeth clenched when she wasn't furiously rushing to complete the spell.

His cellphone began ringing in his pocket. Pulling it out and flipping it open, he answered, "Yeah."

"Hitsugaya Taicho? This is Lieutenant Abarai Renji of the 6th division."

Hitsugaya raised his eyebrows. "Abarai? What's wrong?"

"An unusual power surge has been detected the world of living just now."

"Power surge?" he repeated.

"Yes. We believe it's similar to the reiatsu of a rogue Shinigami by the name of Sakata Haruki. It's been reported in Karakura Town."

"The power surge is someone's reiatsu?" Hitsugaya said, frowning, and just then his gaze fell down to where Karin and Matsumoto were.

What he saw made him draw his breath in sharply. Karin had stopped moving, and was gazing towards the west with a terrified expression on her face, while Matsumoto was trying to ask her what the problem was.

"Hitsugaya Taicho?" Renji said into the phone. "Can you still hear me? I said it's been reported in your area—"

"I'll have to call you back," Hitsugaya said quickly, and hung up.

* * *

Matsumoto pushed Karin behind her roughly. "Who are you?" she called out sternly.

Before them, three figures had suddenly appeared, all of them wearing white masks with no distinguishable markings, and full-body cloaks to hide themselves. The one in the middle stepped forward, then lifted a hand to point at Karin. "We've come for that girl," he said. "This is the Substitute Shinigami, is it not?"

Karin flinched, her eyes going wide.

"Substitute Shinigami?" Matsumoto repeated incredulously.

Just then, there was a loud bang, and the sky above seemed to ripple in a strange green light.

"What is that?" Karin cried out.

"It's a lovely little barrier I invented myself," the man in the middle said with an arrogant chuckle, as a thick mess of familiar storm clouds began to collect above. "Keeps out even fellows like your captain over there. In fact, that's him trying to get in right now."

Karin's eyes widened, as a series of bangs began to fill the air, making the sky above become distorted in the strange green ripples the attacks created. "Tōshirō!" she murmured, just as the clouds began to pour down their usual torrents of rainwater whenever Hitsugaya used his Shikai.

"Now, hand over the girl."

"Get out of here, Kurosaki Karin!' Matsumoto snapped, drawing her sword. "I'll buy you some time!"

"But—" Karin hesitated, torn between fighting back and obeying her orders.

"Hurry! Go!" Matsumoto insisted.

Karin spared her once last glance before turning and running in the opposite direction.

"Stop her," the man instructed the other two, and they obediently moved forward to run past Matsumoto.

"Growl, Haineko!" Matsumoto yelled, and her blade disintegrated into a cloud of grey ash, before billowing up and stopping the two men in their tracks. She began to swing her hilt, attempting to cut them with the ash, but they jumped back, and each pulled out their own Zanpakutō.

Meanwhile, the leader quickly appeared in front Karin, making her skid to a stop a few feet away from him. She took a step back, swallowing hard.

"Let's see what you're made of, Substitute Shinigami," he said, drawing his sword.

Karin's brain wracked itself as she thought desperately. "Forget it," she spat finally. "If it's my powers you want, then you'll never get to see them."

"Is that so?" the man replied threateningly, stepping forward. "Even if it means your death, you won't fight back?"

At this point, a strained grin spread across her face. "Who said I wasn't fighting back?" she replied, and lifted her right hand.

The man laughed. "Don't tell me that you're seriously going to rely on Kidō in order to—"

His words were interrupted abruptly when the storm clouds suddenly sounded above loudly with thunder, followed by an unexpected series of wind gusts that shook the trees violently and whipped everyone's hair and clothes around. He looked up, and from behind his mask his eyes narrowed.

Outside of the barrier, Hitsugaya looked up as well as the sky continued to boom with thunder, along with the occasional crack as lightning flashed overhead. His eyes widened in alarm. _This thunder was not made from Hyōrinmaru_, he thought, perplexed. _Is this the work of Sakata's? No, his Zanpakutō was reportedly one that manipulated plant life. It feels like a hurricane is coming…Just what exactly is going on here…?_

"Bakudō Number 61! Rikujōkōrō!" Karin yelled, and her index finger lit up with the same yellow light that had shone at the end of Matsumoto's during her demonstration before the six rods appeared. The man was about to laugh again, but it was cut off by Karin's voice, which had not stopped speaking.

"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel—"

At this point, the six rods had shot themselves into the man's midsection, pinning his arms to his sides.

"With light, divide this into six!" Karin finished, and the rods began to shine a brighter and thicker light.

"Oh?" the man said with interest. "So you recite the incantation after summoning it? It is a rarely used technique, but you are not the first person I have seen do this."

"I could really care less what you've seen," Karin said bluntly, "or whatever else you have to say to me. Now just sit tight like a good boy and wait until I come back." She began running again, moving past the man as fast as she could, and screamed, "Tōshirō!"

"Kurosaki! Where are you?" Hitsugaya hollered back, and just then he appeared in the skies above the shield in his Shinigami form, looking down below as Karin stopped and looked back up. He reared back then, stunned, for at this moment Karin's reiatsu had exploded out once again and was so large and heavy that it sunk in for the first time just how immense it was. _What is this?_ he thought, completely blown away by his sudden realization. _Her reiatsu…it's the same as this thunderstorm…could this be her doing?_

"Tōshirō! Can't you break through it?" Karin yelled up at him.

"It's impenetrable from the outside, so we'll have to try breaking it down from the inside! Listen carefully and repeat after me!"

Meanwhile, Matsumoto was still beating off the two men, whom she had been able to cut down individually, but they always got back up again just as she was nearly finished with the other one. "Why won't you two stay down?" she snapped, growing exasperated.

"Mori! Sato!" the leader bellowed. "Hurry up and take her out! Grab the girl!"

Karin raised her hands to the shield above her, fingers spread out, and held her index fingers and thumbs together, creating a triangle. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast…"

The two men turned sharply on Matsumoto, and charged at her with a newfound force.

"Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring…"

Matsumoto drew the ash up in front of her for protection, then swung her hilt. However, the remains of bodies that fell through the ash were not the men's; she watched in alarm as the pieces turned to clay.

"Move and become the wind…"

Matsumoto groaned in surprise and pain. The two men had reappeared and stabbed her with their swords from both in front and behind her.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya shouted.

"Stop and become the calm…"

As the men withdrew their swords form her body, Matsumoto fell to her knees and keeled over, grasping her wounds weakly.

"The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"

A bright yellow mess of crackling lightning began to swirl and form a large ball of energy in Karin's hands. The two men turned on her menacingly, and began to make a run for her.

"Hadō Number 63! _Raikōhō!_" Karin screamed, and a huge beam of lightning shot from her hands up at the shield above. It exploded above in a huge cloud of smoke, concealing Hitsugaya up above, and the smoke came slamming down to cover Karin below just as the two men darted into it.

"Karin!" Matsumoto called weakly, sweating heavily from where she trembled on the ground.

"Hyōrinmaru!" Hitsugaya's voice thundered, and from the cloud of smoke the two men suddenly shot out, shoved back by the dual ice dragons Hitsugaya's blade had summoned, and it propelled the two of them backwards and pinned them to a couple of trees, before freezing them over completely.

Inside the smoke cloud, Hitsugaya whipped his sword across his body to clear the smoke away. When it did, he saw Sakata Haruki, freed from Karin's binding, and holding her hostage, hoisting her unconscious body under one arm as he frowned down at her.

"Strange," the man said, more to himself than anyone else. "Was the spell too much for her human body?"

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. He had taken a gamble letting Karin perform a higher-grade Kidō than the one she had already used before, thinking it was possible that she was progressing enough to handle it, but now it turned out to be a fatal mistake on his part.

He made as if to charge forward at Sakata, but he said sharply, "Move and she dies," bringing his blade up against Karin's throat.

"Let her go," Hitsugaya ordered.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. She may not be the one I was looking for, but it seems she'll do well enough. See you," Sakata replied wickedly, and vanished.

"Wait!" Hitsugaya snapped, running forward, but Sakata and Karin were already gone. He stopped short and stared at the empty spot on the ground in disbelief, momentarily unable to comprehend that the Shinigami had just disappeared with the girl.

"Taicho!" Matsumoto cried out, struggling to stand up now, still clutching her wounds.

"Matsumoto! Don't move!" Hitsugaya called, snapping out of it and running over to help her.

"No, it's fine, they didn't hit any internal organs," Matsumoto groaned, as Hitsugaya approached. "Taicho, what will we do about Karin?"

Hitsugaya clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in anger. "It's simple," he said in a dark voice. "I'm going to get her back."

"You know where they went?" Matsumoto said in surprise.

"No, I don't," he said, putting his sword back in his sheath. "But I'll get Kurotsuchi to dig up any information he might have on his whereabouts. In the meantime, we should take you to Inoue Orihime."

* * *

Later that day, the minute Ichigo arrived at Inoue's home after receiving the phone call explaining the situation, the first thing he did was storm into the room where Hitsugaya was, as he had been sitting patiently in a corner while Inoue had been treating an unconscious Matsumoto.

Upon seeing him, Hitsugaya stood up. "Kurosaki—"

"Shut up!" Ichigo snarled, and punched him so hard across the face that he whipped over and fell to the ground with a painful thump.

"Kurosaki-kun—!" Inoue protested, moving forward worriedly, but Ichigo snapped, "Just stay back, Inoue!"

Hitsugaya sat up and wiped his mouth, his cheek beginning to turn red.

"You damn bastard!" Ichigo bent down and grabbed him by the front of his robes before pulling him close to scream in his face. "I thought I told you not to get Karin into any trouble!"

Hitsugaya stared back into Ichigo's enraged face, saying nothing.

"Damn it! I can't even go save her!" Ichigo threw him aside, disgusted with both Hitsugaya and himself, for not being able to do something.

"That's why I'm going to," Hitsugaya replied simply, meaning every word he spoke.

"You sure as hell better," Ichigo threatened, in a low deadly voice, "or I'll kill the guy myself with my bare hands. And then I'm going to kill you."

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue yelped, alarmed.

Hitsugaya slowly stood up. "Have it your way," he said. "But I won't give you the chance to do either of those things."


	6. Chapter 5

_Here's Part 5! Sorry it took so long, had a busy week :3 Just as a routine reminder (for future references), this was written before the anime revealed how Karin actually deals with her growing powers, and all the events within this fanfic are purely hypothetical. It gets a bit rocky from here but hope you guys enjoy it! _

* * *

_Later that night_

Karin awoke to a pounding headache that seemed to make her whole head throb. Wincing, she groaned from the pain, and she opened her eyelids a little, squinting out. Seeing an unfamiliar ceiling, Karin began to search through her memories in confusion, trying to remember how she came to be under that ceiling.

At once her memories of the attack flooded through her, and she nearly cried out as she shot up from…from…

"Where am I?" she said aloud, looking around.

It appeared to be a cave of some kind; the surrounding walls, ceiling and floor were all made of rock, covered in stalagmites and stalactites. Karin realized that she couldn't completely sit straight up, and saw that her wrists and ankles were pinned down to the long, flat rectangular rock she was lying on.

"You aren't the Substitute Shinigami, are you?"

Karin flinched, then turned towards the sound. In the shadows, Sakata Haruki was busy typing something on some kind of machine, a big, bulky contraption of a thing that looked messily put together and on the verge of breaking. Karin could see that there were wires thick as rope connecting the machine to some kind of hand-held device lying near her.

"I've heard he puts up a real fight," Sakata continued, "unlike what you just did. In fact, I realized too late that you have not even reached awareness of Zanpakutō yet."

"Zanpakutō? What is that?"

"Thought so," Sakata snickered. "It's pretty much materialized form of your soul. A reflection of your powers, your thoughts, feelings. A katana like no other in the world, because no one else can have duplicate souls. It is solely your own. It cannot be wielded by anyone better than its master."

"A reflection of…my soul?" Karin repeated slowly, taking it in.

"Of course, you haven't even met your Zanpakutō yet. All the same, after performing some tests, you seem to have an exceedingly large amount of reiatsu. Surprising, for a human of your size."

"Whatever," Karin spat. "I'm not giving you any of my reiatsu no matter what you do to make me give it to you, got it?"

Sakata pressed one final button on the machine, and it began humming loudly. He turned on Karin. "What makes you think I was going to ask you for it?" he asked.

Karin flinched.

"Of course, it would be much simpler on both of us if you willingly gave your reiatsu over to me," Sakata continued, walking over towards the device lying on the ground, which had lit up and was now flashing several different lights.

Understanding what was going on now, Karin began to struggle against her restraints. "Why do you want my reiatsu anyway?" she asked, desperately trying to buy some time.

"Simple. I'm going to channel it into my Zanpakutō."

Karin stopped struggling for a moment. "You can do that?" she said.

"Yes. And I'm going to prove it to you right now, by going through a test run. If it turns out well, then I'll keep you prisoner here and continue to suck your reiatsu every time you recover it."

Sakata picked up the device. Up close, it looked like one of those futuristic guns you see on science fiction programs—the kind that shoots lasers and such—with the exception of having a strange satellite dish-shaped attachment surrounding the barrel of it.

"Let's start with low power, then?" Sakata said, and pointed it at Karin.

* * *

_Meanwhile _

"My, my, breaking into the Great Spiritual Library's archives again?" Kurotsuchi's fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed, staring up at the large computer screen in his dark hole of an office, while simultaneously speaking to Hitsugaya and the others in the human world using the communication system on his computer. "You certainly call for some very desperate measures, Hitsugaya-taicho. Such unbecoming behaviour for a captain of the Gotei 13."

"I don't have time to argue about this with you," Hitsugaya replied dismissively. "Just give me everything you can dig up."

"Is that any way to ask for a favor? Ah, here we are. Sakata Haruki, 3rd seat of the 7th division thirteen years ago. There was evidence that he was trying to research a way to make his Zanpakutō more powerful by converting the reiatsu of others into his sword. He was meant to be brought before Central 46, but he disappeared before they made the arrest after catching wind of their plans."

"Converting other Shinigami reiatsu into his sword? What do you mean?"

"Exactly that. He was attempting to create a device that could absorb foreign reiatsu and then transfer it into his sword. After thirteen years I would think he would have probably accomplished it by now. After all, such things can exist. That bothersome Mod Soul girl was proof of that."

The Mod Soul Kurotsuchi spoke of was Kujō Nozomi, the first Mod Soul ever created. Her Zanpakutō was one whose Shikai could absorb any form of enemy reiatsu and make it her own to throw back at her enemies.

"If he really did make a machine like that…" Hitsugaya thought back on all of the strange incidents in which Karin had proven to have abnormally high reiatsu. He gritted his teeth. "So that's what he wanted."

"Is that all? I'm quite busy."

"Do you have any information on possible whereabouts?"

"The highest probable place he would be right now would be here in Soul Society."

"Soul Society?" Hitsugaya repeated, stunned.

"Of course. Why wouldn't he? You say this girl exhibited spiritual powers far beyond any regular human. If that's so, then the reishi of the spirit world will strengthen that tenfold. That way he'll have plenty more reiatsu to collect from her."

"If he's in Soul Society, can you track down his reiatsu somehow?"

"How hurtful of you. You say that as if you're unsure of my capabilities. Next time demand such things of me as if you're certain that I can do it."

"You just told me—!"

"Here we are! I'm sending the location to you right now. Now, if that's all, then I must be going. Although do bring back that man's research to me, I would be most interested in looking at the spoils of the war. Oh, and a little word of advice—I have full intention of taking that girl in to dissect her, and see what gave her such unusually high reiatsu. Normally I don't warn someone when I'm about to do this, but if I end up killing you once you try to avenge that girl's death, I imagine I'll lose my position as President of the Shinigami Research Institute and get shipped back into that disgusting Maggot's Nest. So I suggest you keep that girl well within your sights and far out of mine to the best of your abilities, because now you've been warned of my intentions."

The phone line went dead. Hitsugaya scoffed hatefully, then looked down at the map on his cellphone. After looking it over, he flipped it shut and turned to the others in the room. "I'll be heading off now," he said bluntly, then said, "Matsumoto."

"Yes." Matsumoto stood up, a serious look growing on her face.

"Prepare for departure at once. We leave for Urahara Kisuke's to head through his Senkaimon."

"Yes."

Just then Ichigo stood up. "Tōshirō."

Hitsugaya looked over at Ichigo and stood waiting.

For a while Ichigo just gave him a hard stare, until finally he said, "Bring her home safe."

Hitsugaya reached into his pocket for his Gikongan. Before putting it in his mouth, he said, "That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you."

* * *

_In Soul Society_

Sakata Haruki stood at his machine, typing over the keyboard, checking to see the level of reiatsu in his Zanpakutō. It was sitting next to the machine in a cartridge of some sort, charging up the reiatsu he'd taken from Karin. The levels were pretty high, but they weren't at their maximum; he could squeeze out a little more from the girl.

Suddenly, a large thundering boom was heard; dust and rock was shaken from the ceiling due to the blast. Sakata frowned, then turned in the direction the noise had come from.

Another boom, but closer this time; an entire stalactite fell now, and burst into pieces as it crashed to the stone floor. Sakata wasn't given any time to prepare this time; with one final boom, the wall exploded, a spray of dust and stone flying everywhere. A sudden blast of cold air hit him in the face, and he knew at once whom had been charging through.

Sure enough, as the dust settled, the wall surrounding the hole the explosion created was covered in ice now, and a layer of frost began to creep over the ground. A small figure slowly became visible through the dirt and ice.

Hitsugaya had arrived.

Sakata smiled pleasantly, but it was distorted with the expression of a madman. "You finally made it, Hitsugaya-taicho," he said.

Hitsugaya slowly walked into the room, then took his stance, pointing his sword towards Sakata. "Where's Kurosaki?" he asked.

"You certainly kept her waiting long enough." Sakata held his hand out behind him. "She's right over there."

Still strapped to the table, Karin had nearly reached her limits; she had been gagged, and it was apparent that she had been beaten or burned with something. She was breathing heavily, as though it was difficult for her to pull in air, her face contorted in pain.

"Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya screamed, a panicked expression on his face, but then it twisted into one of enragement as he turned back towards Sakata. "What have you done to her?" he snarled.

"Now, now, there's no need for such hostility," Sakata snickered. "Is it my fault the girl was putting up such a fight to keep her reiatsu from me? I was just prompting her a little to get her to release it. It was certainly a difficult task, though—if I had pushed her too much at once, I might've forced her into a Jinzen-like state, and then I would've had a real problem on my hands. However, I had to test her limits to the point where she would be forced to release her reiatsu on survival instinct."

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. "Damn it."

"I suppose you've come to take her back. Unfortunately…" Sakata removed his Zanpakutō from its cartridge, and pointed it at Hitsugaya, crackling with newfound bright purple sparks. "I'm not quite finished with her yet."

"That isn't for you to decide," Hitsugaya growled, and then burst forward, his sword aiming for Sakata's head.

Suddenly, Sakata sneered at him, and as if summoned two figures appeared in Hitsugaya's path, blocking Hitsugaya's oncoming attack.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "You two?" he said incredulously. "Why?"

Sakata began laughing. "Why?" he repeated. "Take a good look, boy."

The two figures loomed down on him then, and Hitsugaya saw their faces for the first time; their faces were completely stoic and still, their eyes unseeing, their skin paper white. Slowly their mouths opened and clacked shut, opened and clacked shut.

"Dolls?" Hitsugaya exclaimed.

"That's right. They're made of paper and straw—creating and manipulating them is a simple feat I have long since mastered. No matter how many times they die, I just make new ones to replace them."

A sudden realization fell over Hitsugaya. "Don't tell me…"

Sakata smirked. "That's right. That is the ability of my Shikai—to turn the plant life around me into powerful minions that do my bidding. The swords they possess are not their own Zanpakutō—rather, they are souvenirs from previous battles with other Shinigami."

"Impossible!" Hitsugaya snapped. "A Zanpakutō dies with its master!"

Sakata laughed. "Surely you did not think that I would not use an opportunity when presented with one? You remember the day when everyone's Zanpakutō materialized, do you not?"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "You…"

"Of course, my own Zanpakutō never came to do so; I was in the world of the living at the time, but I had heard the rumors and had returned here at once. Everyone was such in a dishevelled mess that breaking in and tweaking the Senkaimon records to neglect any of my future comings and goings was hardly a difficult task. Then all I had to do was defeat the Zanpakutō rampaging about after they'd killed their masters and collect their swords. It was quite an enjoyable harvest."

The two dolls shoved Hitsugaya off then, and wasted no time charging forward the minute they had done so. Momentarily unprepared, Hitsugaya braced for a hit, but it never came; something sailed over his head and roundhouse-kicked both of the dolls across the head, sending them flying backwards.

"You?" Hitsugaya said in surprise, as Nemu landed neatly on the ground.

"Mayuri-sama requested I come and collect the man's research," Nemu replied, "but it seems you have not finished up here yet."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Hitsugaya asked, in exasperated annoyance. "Whatever, just take those dolls out while I kill that man."

"Understood, Hitsugaya-taicho."

A sinister grin spread over Sakata's face. "I see," he said, "you intend to let the girl fight off the dolls while you defeat me in order to prevent having me summon any more. Sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be giving you that opportunity."

Hitsugaya pointed his sword once again in Sakata's direction. "I'll be the judge of that," he replied.


	7. Chapter 6

_On to Part 6! As a routine reminder (for future references), this was written before...okay I've said this like a bazillion times lol you probably know it by heart ;) Also since Sakata has a Zanpakuto I had to make something up but the Japanese is probably wrong, used Google translate which is pretty shady...Anyways hope you enjoy it! (Not that you need me to tell you that)_

* * *

_Sakata's cave, Soul Society_

"Sit upon the frozen heavens! Hyōrinmaru!" Hitsugaya summoned, and at once ice began to swirl around his blade and form an ice dragon above his head. He swung his blade, and the ice dragon shot forward towards Sakata.

Sakata lifted his blade up and used both hands to reinforce it as the dragon collided full-force into him, skidding back a few feet in the dirt, before throwing the dragon off him and slicing down to cut its head from its neck. Hitsugaya continued to throw more and more of the ice dragons at him, while Sakata continued to fend them off and dodge out of the way.

"It's going to take more than that to kill me," Sakata laughed hysterically, then hollered, "Kusabue no Uta: Indō!"

The wooden dolls turned their heads abruptly on Hitsugaya, and opened their mouths wide. From the deep abyss of their mouth, a series of vines slowly began to grow out, creeping over their faces, its foliage leafing out as it spread. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, before a thick mess of them suddenly shot out, aiming straight for Hitsugaya.

Alarmed, Hitsugaya raised his blade up in defense, so that the vines crashed into his sword; as they grew and curled around it, it began to freeze over and crumble to ice, but it was spreading fast enough that it was creeping up the hilt of the blade, and in turn up his arms. Clenching his teeth, Hitsugaya swung his blade to shake it off and jumped back a few feet, before yelling, "Guncho Tsurara!"

Sakata smirked, and as the array of ice daggers flew out towards him, he swiftly dodged it and moved out of the way, so that the ice daggers continued to fly forward, heading in the direction of Karin.

"Damn it!" Hitsugaya swore, moving forward in an attempt to stop the attack, but just then Nemu kicked one of the dolls into the way, so that the barrage of daggers pummelled it to a broken mess before it fell to the ground.

"What'll you do, Hitsugaya-taicho?" Sakata's voice said, echoing through the cave, and quite suddenly he appeared next to Karin's bed of rock. "Awfully tight space to be resisting, don't you think? The poor girl could get caught in the crossfire."

He reached out then, his hand hovering over Karin's head, but Hitsugaya snarled, "Don't touch her!" with such a ringing force that Sakata raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh? How interesting. She a friend of yours?" he taunted.

"Lay another finger on her one more time," Hitsugaya snapped, "and I'll make sure it'll be the last thing you'll ever touch!"

"Don't you get it, Hitsugaya-taicho?" Sakata screamed then, raising his arms triumphantly over his head, the look of a madman in his eyes. "You can't possibly win in a situation like this! If I don't die, then surely the girl will! Even if you avoid killing her with your own attack, what makes you think you can't misfire and set those stalactites loose?" He flung an arm out towards the ceiling, at the hundreds of them, pointed, as if aiming for Karin's body. "Give it up now. Or, if you'd prefer, you can take the place of the girl and set her free!"

Suddenly, a bright shining light appeared behind Sakata; before he could turn around, six thin wide beams of yellow light seemed to appear out of thin air, and pinned him squarely in the midsection, freezing him where he stood.

Confused, Sakata turned his head as much as he could, staring wildly behind him. "Impossible!" he shrieked.

Karin had freed herself at her wrists, seemingly haven forced her hands through the cuffs, since they remained intact. Sitting up now, holding herself up on the table, she spit out her gag, breathing heavily, and raised her right hand up before pointing it like a gun to his head. "Bite me."

Sakata's eyes widened, realizing what she was doing. "Wait!"

"Hadō Number 31! Shakkahō!" she screamed, and a bright ball of red energy formed inches away from Sakata's eyes before blowing up in his face, sending him flying several feet away before skidding to the ground.

"Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya exclaimed, shocked.

"I'm fine, really," Karin groaned, as Sakata began to struggle out of the binding. "Just hurry and make sure he doesn't escape."

Hitsugaya stared coldly down at Sakata. "He won't," he said in a deadly voice, and walked over to him as he stared up at Hitsugaya, incoherently pleading for his life, his face charred with Karin's Kidō spell. He looked down at him for a few moments, then lifted his blade up and plunged it down into his heart, with such force that it tore into the ground beneath him, and stayed where it was.

At once, the two dolls that Nemu had been beating off froze up and crumpled to the ground, now nothing but a pair of lifeless dolls. Nemu stood up straight from her stance, then walked over to Sakata's machinery and began packing it up as if she had just waltzed in without any interruptions in the first place.

Leaving his blade behind, Hitsugaya quickly rushed up to free Karin of the bindings around her ankles. "Are you okay?" he asked, unbuckling her feet.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, as Hitsugaya undid the last lock. She swung her legs over the bed weakly and tried to stand up, but her legs crumped beneath her and she fell forward.

"Hey!" Hitsugaya quickly stepped forward and caught her before her face smashed into the ground. "What do you think you're doing? Don't try to move yet."

"My goodness, what is all this?"

Hitsugaya looked up then; Kurotsuchi was standing at the entrance of the cave, looking over the machine, Sakata's dead body, and the two lifeless dolls with an interested curiosity. Turning to Nemu, he said, "What took you so long? This man was hardly a threat. You were making too much noise."

"My sincerest apologies," Nemu replied automatically.

Kurotsuchi's gaze fell on Karin. At once Hitsugaya glared at him and moved so as to place himself between Karin and the scientist.

"Hurry up and take that half-dead girl out of here," Kurotsuchi snapped. "I have no use for a specimen that is not at its prime. It will not show me the best of its capabilities that way. Get her out of my way."

Hitsugaya picked up Karin's limp body and began carrying it out, his eyes not moving from Kurotsuchi as he did so, as if the scientist had second thoughts and was going to try and snatch Karin right from under his nose.

"Tōshirō?" Karin called out weakly, as the two of them stepped out of the cave.

"Don't speak. I'm taking you to the medical headquarters."

"Is it still Wednesday?"

Hitsugaya looked down at her as best as he could, seeing as how she had her head propped up against his shoulder, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"I haven't celebrated Yuzu's birthday yet."

"Birthday?"

"Yeah. You don't do that here, I guess?"

"Guess not."

"It's when you celebrate the day you were born. It's a yearly tradition."

It suddenly hit Hitsugaya, exactly what that meant. "Then, isn't it your birthday too?"

"Yeah. Me and Yuzu turn thirteen today—that is, if it's still today."

"Why didn't you say something when Matsumoto pulled you out of school?" Hitsugaya asked, almost angry at her for not saying anything.

"I didn't mind. I was learning something useful, something that could help protect myself and the people around me. But I can see now that one binding spell isn't going to be enough. I'm way in over my head."

"You don't have to do this anymore. No one's telling you to fight."

"No, I have to. I don't have any other choice. Besides, I need to pay back Ichi-nii for all the times he's protected us. He doesn't have his Shinigami powers to look after everyone anymore. It's my turn to do that now."

"Kurosaki…" Hitsugaya was at a loss for words, stunned at how resolved she was.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Karin said, smiling weakly. "It's Karin."

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing you're still going to call me by my last name anyway?"

"Who knows?"

* * *

The following weekend, Karin had finally made it back home to the world of the living after a few tedious days. She had sat healing under Unohana's care in the Fourth Division headquarters, but without the knowledge of Yamamoto; certain that Karin would be doomed to remain in Soul Society and be forced to become a Shinigami and learn how to control her powers—or die—Hitsugaya had begged Unohana to keep her off the radar and out of everyone's sight as much as possible. She had agreed, only because both Hitsugaya and Karin had so insisted, promising she would get a hold of her powers on her own merits. Then it took some time convincing Kurotsuchi to meddle with the Senkaimon travel records, reminding him of the souvenirs he'd taken back from the cave, which he would not have had unless Sakata had not made a move to capture Karin. At this point Unohana had stepped in and promised him a month's worth of pike fish, caught by her subordinates themselves, and he finally gave in, even though he was rather sulky about losing Karin for experimentation.

"I suppose I can wait until she's developed a little more," he'd said, as he carefully picked apart the machinery from Sakata's cave with Unohana and Hitsugaya watching. "Perhaps it could be nothing more than genetics, considering their bloodline, but I would've investigated further on the boy had he not gone and lost all his powers so recklessly. Nemu!" he called then, as Nemu was busy sorting out the blueprints and paperwork. "Bring me the manual for the coloured wires."

"Yes, Mayuri-sama."

"Aren't you a scientist? Why do you need a manual for the coloured wires?"

In any case, Karin came home to the family and to confirm the story with Yuzu that she had been quarantined in a hospital with an unknown disease that turned out to be a simple form of mutated small pox.

"Who the hell made that up? Who would believe that?" Hitsugaya said in disbelief, as he and Karin were walking back to the clinic after running an errand for Isshin.

"Who else would make up such a ridiculous story?" Karin replied displeasingly, scowling at the thought of her father. "In any case, Yuzu eats up all of our dad's words like it's a fountain of gold. Those two together are a lost cause."

"Honestly," Hitsugaya spat, thinking back to Isshin's return. "As if your sister wasn't bad enough…"

* * *

_Earlier_

"I'MMMMM—!"

A dark shadow suddenly seemed to fill the ceiling over their heads.

"—HOMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Without even so much as blinking, Ichigo successfully intercepted Isshin's kick and uppercut his father to the chin, sending him flying back up into the ceiling.

Hitsugaya nearly jumped into the air, as he reared back in shock and pointed up at the ceiling, completely at a loss. "What the hell was that?"

"Oh, him?" Ichigo replied nonchalantly, jerking his thumb over as Isshin fell from the ceiling and landed in a heap on the ground. "That's our dad."

"That's Isshin Kurosaki?"

"Oh?" Isshin perked up as Hitsugaya stared down at him in incredulous disbelief. "You know my name, kiddo? Well—" Isshin stood up and posed as the others on looked in displeasure. "I am quite famous around these parts! Kurosaki Clinic, home to the one and only Isshin Kurosaki—!"

"Put a sock in it!" Karin snapped, punching him in the face. "He's a Shinigami, Dad. A Shinigami!"

"Oh? Even better!" Isshin looked up nostalgically at the ceiling, despite the bruise growing on his face. "Ah, the days of the captain were the greatest. So, how's the Shinigami Academy going for you?" he asked Hitsugaya, grinning down at him.

Hitsugaya's vein practically popped from his forehead. "I'm not in the Shinigami Academy!" he yelled, as Karin attempted to subdue him. "I'm the 10th division captain, Hitsugaya Tōshirō!"

"Eh? You're kidding? Boy, Yamamoto is sure cutting the kids some slack these days!"

"What d'you say?"

"Both of you shut up!" Karin yelled, throwing Hitsugaya off as he began sulking, while simultaneously glaring at Isshin. "In any case, Tōshirō will be out of here in a few days. He's just here temporarily for a shift in town."

At this point Isshin stopped moving almost completely for the first time since he'd been home. "Out of here? He's been living here?"

At that exact moment, Yuzu burst through the front door. "Dad, you're home!' she cried out, upon entering the living room. "And you've already met Karin-chan's boyfriend, too!"

It took but a second for all hell to break loose.

"WHAT? ARE YOU SAYING MY DAUGHTER'S ALREADY BEEN TAKEN FROM ME WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR CONSCENT? YOU PUNK! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MASAKI'S DAUGHTER FROM ME?"

"I DIDN'T STEAL ANYONE'S DAUGHTER! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL EVERYONE IT'S NOT LIKE THAT? SHE'S MAKING UP LIES!"

"Get a life, Dad! I've brought the guys over millions of times before!"

"Those aren't real men! I thought you hung out with them because you pitied them! This one's completely different!"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean? You gonna call me a freak too?"

"WILL ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP AND DO THIS SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

* * *

Hitsugaya practically keeled over at the memory of it. "Your old man's really getting on my nerves," he growled.

Karin grinned apologetically. "Normally I'd tell you that we're a loud family and not to let it bother you, but…"

The arrived outside of the clinic. "Brace yourself," Karin said good-naturedly, as she walked up the steps to the front door.

Swinging open the front door, Karin frowned. "Why are all the lights out?"

Suddenly, an unidentified flying object catapulted out from the depths of the house.

"SURPRISE!"


	8. Chapter 7

_Here's the seventh-and final-part! Just wanted to say many thanks to all those who liked my story and stayed with me to the end, you guys are exactly what the budding fanfiction author ordered! At this point I just want to stress one final time how I wrote this BEFORE the anime focused on Karin's powers...like I have no idea what her __Zanpakutō is but I kinda hinted at it being a thunderbird, just cause I personally think thunderbirds are cool and stuff...so yeah, thanks again! :)_

* * *

_Kurosaki Clinic_

"You trying to give me a heart-attack, you old fart?" Karin yelled, as she glared down at Isshin, whom was now crumpled on the floor once more after getting kicked to the face.

"But everyone else said 'surprise' too!"

"Nobody else tried to jump me from the dark!"

"Whatever, just hurry up and get inside," Ichigo called, poking his head out of the living room.

Karin narrowed her eyes at him as she made her way over. "What's with that look on your—"

Upon entering the living room, Karin stopped short, stunned. "Huh?"

"Happy Birthday!" the crowd inside cheered, popping streamers as they did so, surrounding a table with a birthday cake on it, with a huge streamer behind them reading Happy Birthday Karin. Ichigo, Rukia, Matsumoto, and Unohana were inside, along with Unohana's lieutenant Kotetsu, and several other people whom she could not recognize, all of whom were women.

Taken aback, Karin stuttered, "Who…?"

"Karin-chan!" Isshin suddenly appeared behind Karin, whom nearly jumped out of her skin, then stared down as if disgusted as her old man fell on one knee, touched to the point that he became teary-eyed. "I didn't know you cared for my welfare so much! To bring me such a harem of beautiful women to choose from—!"

"They're not suitors, you scumbag!" Karin and Ichigo snapped in unison, as Karin kicked him in the face while Ichigo kicked him on the behind.

"Such coordination…that only my children could possess…!"

"Congratulations!" Matsumoto beamed, moving forward to smack a birthday hat on Karin's head. "We've just decided that you'll be the newest member of the Shinigami Women's Association!"

"But I'm not a Shinigami—!"

"Don't worry, don't worry! We decided that'll be inevitable eventually! So we reserved a spot for you!" Matsumoto said, waving her hand cheerily. "Besides, we haven't celebrated a birthday before, so we came to get in on the experience! I even brought my best sake!" At that point she produced a bottle of sake seemingly from out of nowhere.

"My birthday isn't an excuse to get drunk—!"

"Come, I'll introduce you!" Matsumoto said, slinging an arm around her and ushering her over to the other women as Karin sighed in exasperation, giving up.

"Wait! Introduce me, too!" Isshin cried out, skipping over.

"Shut up!"

Standing a few feet away, Hitsugaya and Ichigo stood on looking at the mess of people in disbelief.

"I'm surprised," Ichigo said, watching Karin continuously beat off Isshin as they were introduced to the women of the Association one by one. "I didn't think you'd be one to pay for all the expenses of the party."

"Don't worry about it. I learned while I was here that it's proper etiquette for a man to pay for the woman."

"Well, thanks. This means a lot to both of us."

"Don't be. This hardly makes up for the mistakes I've made."

Ichigo was silent for a moment. "Karin told me it wasn't your fault. That she kept picking fights the way she always does when she's mad, the idiot."

Hitsugaya looked up, confused, and then realized that Karin was still lying to him about her learning Kidō.

"Anyway, I'm not mad. You brought her back, so that's enough."

"Taicho! Come get a piece of this cake thing! It's delicious!" Matsumoto called.

Hitsugaya sighed. "Honestly. For her to bring the entire Women's Association…"

"At least none of them invited any of the men. I don't think I can handle Renji and Ikkaku in my house again." Ichigo smiled. "You better get your cake, Tōshirō."

"It's not Tōshirō. It's Hitsugaya-taicho."

* * *

"What're you doing up here?"

Hitsugaya looked over his shoulder. Karin had her head poked out of the window in her room leading to the roof, and was peeking over at him.

"Taking a break. Matsumoto and the others tend to give me migraines."

"They're definitely a cheery bunch," Karin admitted, as she hoisted herself up onto the roof and walked over to join him. "But I've lived with that kind of thing all my life. I think I can handle it." She plopped down next to him, then looked up at the full moon. "Thanks for saving me for the millionth time, by the way."

"I was just trying to atone for my mistakes."

"It isn't your fault I got captured."

There was silence for a while, then Karin looked over at him and held up a large yellow envelope. "So, why didn't you sign your name on my present?"

Hitsugaya looked over and stared at the envelope. "Who said it was from me?"

"Matsumoto told me the handwriting looks like yours." Karin looked at the tag attached, one side of which read "Kurosaki Karin," the other side reading "Open in privacy." "So, should I open it now?"

"The card specifically said to open it on your own."

"It's from you, isn't it? Doesn't matter." Karin opened the flap up and carefully took out the contents. Inside were several sheets of paper and a small book. Placing the book in her lap, she looked through the papers, frowning. "These look like registration forms."

"Something like that. I took the liberty of signing you up for several martial arts classes."

"No way!" Karin looked at the papers more closely. "Judo, Kendo, Aikido, Karate…this is amazing!"

"You told me once that you try channel your reiatsu into your physical attacks when fighting. This will be just the basics when it comes to fighting Shinigami. You met Shihōin downstairs, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Karin said, looking over at him. "The dark-skinned woman with the purple hair, right?"

"There's a technique that she created that combines Kidō with hand-to-hand combat called Shunkō. She hangs around Urahara's shop a lot."

"She does? I've never seen her before—"

"The black cat."

Karin's eyes widened in surprise. "She's that cat?"

"Yeah. Urahara's has a huge training arena underneath their store. Once you've mastered all of those, start training under her. Even Urahara's skilled in the way of Hakuda."

"Hakuda?"

"It's another form of advanced close-combat fighting, but no weapons, only your body. Essentially it's high-speed Taijutsu."

Stunned, Karin could only stare out back at the moon again, deep in thought. Then she looked down at the papers again. "This could take a few years," she said finally.

"It should, unless you're a ridiculous prodigy in hand-to-hand combat, too. If you are, then continue the classes for the sake of learning self-discipline."

Karin nodded, then remembered the book in her lap. Picking it up, she read, "The Way of Kidō."

"As far as learning Kidō goes, Urahara's helper Tsukabishi will be of use for that. He was the Kidō Corps Commander and Grand Kidō Chief of the Kidō Corps a hundred years ago."

Taking all of it in, Karin looked over at Hitsugaya. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you told me you have a job repaying your brother for his deeds and protecting the people around you. And because you have the potential to do that. That's all."

Karin was silent for a minute, then smiled and hugged the stuff to her chest. "Thank you."

"Just don't overexert yourself."

Karin carefully returned the papers and book back to its envelope, then placed the flap inside. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tōshirō?"

"Yeah?"

"When I was in the cave," she said slowly, "I kept fading in and out of consciousness. And whenever I slipped out, I kept having the same dream." She looked up at the moon. "I was up in the sky, standing on the clouds. And there was this woman there, with dark skin, red hair and a green kimono. She kept trying to say something to me, but there weren't any sounds coming out of her mouth…"

The story was so familiar to Hitsugaya that he looked up sharply in shock as she continued. "I kept telling her I couldn't hear her. The more I told her that, the louder she'd try to speak. Eventually the sky grew dark and thick with black clouds, and the woman transformed into this huge green bird. It kept trying to tell me something, but with every brush of its wings, thunder would clap. It kept getting louder and louder until I thought my ears would explode, and then the dream would just end."

_Child, do you have what it takes to wield me? My name is…_

_ What did you say? I can't hear you!_

_ My name is…_

_ I can't hear you!_

When Hitsugaya first began to dream of the ice serpentine on that endless plain of ice, his voice could never reach him. His words were slurred, and the wind howled too viciously. Eventually, his reiatsu became so wild with his dreams that it would freeze his grandmother as they slept.

_Is she already getting in touch with her Zanpakutō?_ Hitsugaya thought in disbelief. _And yet she's still just a human…why…_

"Tōshirō?"

Hitsugaya snapped out of it, and turned towards Karin's concerned face. "What is it?" she asked.

"No, it's nothing," he replied. "It's just that I took the right precautions."

"Precautions?"

"Don't worry about it."

"But—"

Hitsugaya stopped her by flicking her in the forehead, looking annoyed. Karin yelped, then clutched her forehead while glaring at him angrily. "What was that for?"

Hitsugaya looked up at the moon. "Don't worry," he said. "Eventually the woman's voice will come to you. And when you hear it, everything will turn out okay."

Karin blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." Hitsugaya got up. "I'm going to bed now. Hurry up and kick the women out."

* * *

"Thanks again for everything, Tōshirō," Karin said, as she stood in the underground arena of Urahara's, seeing Tōshirō off before he left through the Senkaimon after the Women's Association.

"Don't worry about it. In any case, I think I've had enough of the world of living for a while," Tōshirō sighed. "You'll hide your reiatsu in your sleep from now on, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Hitsugaya turned towards the Senkaimon.

"You'll come back one day and visit again, right?" Karin said quickly.

Hitsugaya paused. "Who knows?" he replied. "See you." He stepped through the Senkaimon, and with that the doors closed behind him, leaving no trace of the Dangai save for a few of the hell's butterflies, fluttering off in different directions.

"All finished here, Kurosaki-san?" Urahara asked.

Karin was silent for a moment, then looked around the arena slowly before she turned towards him, a new sense of purpose in her expression.

"Not exactly," she said, and with that a grin spread across the corners of her mouth.

* * *

_FIN_


End file.
